Sandy sidelines Obama; Biden to join Clinton here

Romney tries to widen his electoral map

Photo by: Associated Press

President Barack Obama speaks to the media about Hurricane Sandy at the Federal Emergency Management
Agency in Washington on Sunday. Obama will forgo appearing with former President Bill Clinton at the Covelli
Centre today. Vice President Joe Biden will join Clinton for the campaign event.

Staff/wire report

YOUNGSTOWN

President Barack Obama will not attend today’s campaign rally at the Covelli Centre, opting instead to monitor Hurricane Sandy, which is currently forecast to make landfall along the Eastern Seaboard later today.

Vice President Joe Biden instead will appear with former President Bill Clinton at today’s event, for which about 6,000 tickets were distributed Friday. Times for the rally were altered slightly by the Obama campaign Sunday night. Doors to the arena now will open at 2 p.m. today, with the rally starting about 3:30.

“An unprecedented hurricane is hitting the East Coast, and the president is still the leader of the country,” said Dave Betras, chairman of the Mahoning County Democratic Party, after learning of Obama’s change in plans. “He needs to be there to manage FEMA.”

Rahm Emanuel, Chicago mayor and former White House chief of staff for Obama, was supposed to be downtown to campaign for the president at the Covelli Centre on Sunday afternoon.

Emanuel’s appearance was canceled because of a scheduling conflict, organizers said.

Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney frantically sought Sunday to close the deal with voters with precious few days left in an incredibly close race as this year’s October surprise — an unprecedented storm menacing the East Coast — wreaked havoc on their best-laid plans.

Ever mindful of his narrow path to the requisite 270 electoral votes, Romney looked to expand his map, weighing an intensified effort in traditionally left-leaning Minnesota. Obama sought to defend historically Democratic turf as the race tightened heading into the final week.

Wary of being seen as putting their political pursuits ahead of public safety, the two White House hopefuls reshuffled their campaign plans as the storm approached. Both candidates were loath to forfeit face time with voters in battleground states such as Virginia that are likely to be afflicted when Hurricane Sandy, a winter storm and a cold front collide to form a freak hybrid storm.

“The storm will throw havoc into the race,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.

Obama, preparing to depart for Florida on Sunday, a day early to beat the storm, got an update from disaster relief officials before speaking by phone to affected governors and mayors.

“Anything they need, we will be there,” Obama said. “And we are going to cut through red tape. We are not going to get bogged down with a lot of rules. We want to make sure that we are anticipating and leaning forward.”

An opportunity for Obama to demonstrate steady leadership in the face of crisis was offset by the risk that the federal government, as in past emergencies, could be faulted for an ineffective response, with the president left to take the fall.

Obama planned to return to Ohio on Wednesday with stops in Cincinnati and Akron, followed by a Thursday swing through Springfield, Ohio, Boulder, Colo., and Las Vegas.

Romney nixed three stops in up-for-grabs Virginia on Sunday, opting instead to campaign with running mate Paul Ryan in Ohio before heading today to Wisconsin, where Romney has chipped away at Obama’s lead.

“I know that right now some people in the country are a little nervous about a storm about to hit the coast, and our thoughts and prayers are with people who will find themselves in harm’s way,” Romney told several hundred supporters crowded into a field house at the University of Findlay, the second of three Sunday rallies.

Romney’s campaign confirmed Sunday that he would not travel to New Hampshire on Tuesday as planned. The campaign already canceled a Monday event in New Hampshire featuring Romney’s wife, Ann. Advisers say further travel changes are likely as they monitor the storm’s progress.

Vice President Joe Biden canceled a Monday event in New Hampshire. “The last thing the president and I want to do is get in the way of anything. The most important thing is health and safety,” Biden said.

Ryan planned to leave Ohio at midday for three stops in Florida. His Tuesday schedule, however, shifted him to stops in Colorado instead of Virginia.

The prospect that bad weather could hinder early voting and get-out-the-vote efforts is vexing to both Obama and Romney.

“Obviously, we want unfettered access to the polls, because we think the more people that come out, the better we’re going to do,” said David Axelrod, a top adviser to Obama’s campaign. “To the extent that it makes it harder, that’s a source of concern.”

In Virginia, one of the most competitive states in the race, election officials eased absentee voting requirements for those affected by the storm.

“The state board of elections is already planning for extended hours in advance for absentee voting, and it’s now a priority, moved up to the same level as hospitals and police stations to have power restored,” said Gov. Bob McDonnell, a top Romney ally.

Bringing up a safety concern, Virginia Senate candidate Tim Kaine’s campaign urged supporters to remove their political yard signs. “Due to the potential for strong winds in this storm, the last thing we want is for yard signs to become projectiles,” said campaign manager Mike Henry.

Getting voters to the polls — whether early or on Election Day — is one of the few elements of the race still in the candidates’ control. Although Romney and Obama are in a close contest for the popular vote, the president continues to have the upper hand in the most contested states.

Reince Priebus, the GOP chairman, pointed to recent gains for Romney that have lifted him to a virtual tie in most national polls. “The challenger always wins in a tie race,” he said.

With time running out, both campaigns appeared to be fine-tuning their map of the states where they’re campaigning the hardest.

A senior Republican official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to disclose private deliberations, said Sunday that the Romney team was seriously discussing sending Romney, Ryan or both to Minnesota during the final week. The state hasn’t gone Republican in the presidential race since 1972, but recent polling shows a tighter race there than most anticipated.

In a flashback to the 2008 race, Obama’s campaign announced that Biden will campaign Thursday in Pennsylvania, reprising a visit to his hometown of Scranton that he made during the final week four years ago. Pennsylvania, too, has been Democratic territory in recent years, but Romney has continued to contest the state with an advertising assist from the Republican Party.

Suggest removal:

Suggest removal:

VP Biden and Former President Clinton together are gonna Rock this Rally...Big Time at Covelli! The two convey leadership, are well-seasoned, well prepared. Solid. Firm.It's gonna be Loud...Very Loud!!!

MSNBC just reported that Pres. Obama and Clinton will be doing a rally in Florida today.

i guess he doesn't start representing the country until mid-afternoon.

Suggest removal:

Seems Mr Betras is a realist. In the third paragraph, he is quoted as having said "... the president is still the leader of the country." If he really believed Mr Obama would win re-election, the attorney in him would be precise and not use "still." Rather, "the president is the leader of the country." Yep, "still" president -- until noon on January 20.

He did not watch the ambassador being killed but he is going to watch the hurricane? ya right

Suggest removal:

wow, judging from this board, and most "mainstream" news boards i read, obama will be lucky to get a vote in this election, even in the mahoning county...god, are cons going to be crying in their beer and jesus juice next tuesday...get out the towels losers

Just off the wire: Clinton to be at the Babylon in Austintown at 8pm for a rally. Biden to be at the Funny Farm Comedy Club in Mojo's at 10pm.

Suggest removal:

I finally applaud President for recognizing his position as leader of the country and responding appropriately to an urgent matter that requires his attention. It's about time. Billy and Joe will read his teleprompters and do just fine echoing the the party line of hoping for more change this time around.

Suggest removal:

If you have a ticket and attend, please where some Ohio State apparel so VP Biden knows what he is in. And, if you are a well-proportioned female, the ex-president's staff encourages you to wear something clinging, sexy and uncomplicated.

National media should be there. Time to drive the message that this region isn't a bunch of dumb Democrats who just vote what they always have, because their momma and papa voted big D in 1950.

Can't wait to see the legions of Obama phones and the give me culture in full force.

Suggest removal:

I don't believe the speakers are going to matter-------Democrats are still going to vote democratic. The local political figures will all be there because it is a photo opp. I am totally fed up with the lies and back stabbing. Members of Congress act like little children and many are disconnected from reality.

Thanks for coming folks see ya on 11/6.

Suggest removal:

A VOTE FOR OBAMA IS A VOTE AGAINST GOD: Billy Graham said "I will do whatever I can to help the GOP”. It was good to see Billy Graham take a stand against the forces of evil that are running our country. May God bless Billy Graham and may God give him a long, long life. We sure could use more like him!

When it comes to morals Obama is about as low as you can get! When he was in the Illinois State Senate, he voted to deny basic constitutional protections to babies born alive from failed abortions. Not once, but four times. Is this the kind of leadership that will move us forward? Leadership that would discard the least and the weakest among us?

Obama came out for same sex marriages, homosexuals in the military and had a homosexual sodomite party in the white house. He is turning our country into Sodom and Gomorrah! God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah therefore a vote for Obama is a vote against God.

Christ used the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah as dramatic examples of God’s wrath (Matthew 10:15, Mark 6:11, Luke 10:12, and Luke 17:29). Throughout the Old Testament, prophets described these cities as being notorious for the practice of homosexuality. (Genesis 18:20, Genesis 19:4-5, Isaiah 3:9, Jeremiah 23:14, Ezekiel 16:46.

Suggest removal:

OK I'm convinced.

Obama 2012!

Suggest removal:

Dagwood Youngstown was once a blue collar town, But now its a hand out town where the lazy come to live. Just look at the people who will be going to the House of Fools meeting at the Covelli center today. Granted there are some people who want to work, but for the most part there are many more who don't.

Hey cambridge, if Romney gets elected, will he have inherited this economic mess from Obama or Bush?

Suggest removal:

A new book from filmmaker Oliver Stone offers a scathing critique of President Barack Obama’s time in office.

Stone, who wrote “The Untold History of the United States” with historian Peter Kuznick, puts forth a liberal interpretation of American history from the turn of the last century to present day. The 618-page book, slated for release Tuesday - a week before Election Day - from Gallery Books, slams Republicans and Democrats alike, and the authors’ assessment of Obama’s presidency is tinged with disappointment.

“The country Obama inherited was indeed in shambles, but Obama took a bad situation and, in certain ways, made it worse,” Stone and Kuznick wrote. “…[R]ather than repudiating the policies of Bush and his predecessors, Obama has perpetuated them.”

Obama’s election “felt like a kind of expiation for the sins of a nation whose reputation had been sullied, as we have shown throughout this book, by racism, imperialism, militarism, nuclearism, environmental degradation and unbridled avarice,” they wrote. The latest But on subjects from Wall Street reform to health care to Afghanistan, Stone and Kuznick rip Obama for breaking campaign promises and continuing the policies of President George W. Bush — who’s roundly condemned throughout the book. In some instances, they write, Obama went further than Bush’s White House toward anti-progressive policies.

“Obama asserted presidential power in ways that must have made Dick Cheney jealous,” they wrote.

“In 2011, Obama defied his own top lawyers, insisting that he did not need congressional approval under the War Powers Resolution to continue military activities in Libya,” they continued, in their write-up of Obama’s handling of intervention in that country.

(Also on POLITICO: Battleground Tracking Poll: Obama retakes lead)

An accompanying documentary series is set to air on Showtime starting Nov. 12.

Stone said in 2008 that he backed Obama, but earlier this year said that he would support GOP Rep. Ron Paul over Obama if he could.

The biting criticism from Stone and Kuznick includes:

On Wall Street reform: “The biggest winner under Obama was Wall Street.”On health care: “Obama’s failure to articulate a progressive vision was also apparent in the fight over health reform, which was to have been his signature initiative…Obama’s health care reform effort, marked by the inability to even refute Republican charges of death panels, was so unpopular that it became an albatross around the necks of Democrats in the 2010 election.”

Suggest removal:

President Obama took Chrysler and GM into bankruptcy and even sold Chrysler to the Italians. Who will do more for the auto industry? The clear answer is Mitt Romney.

Category: News & PoliticsLicense:Standard YouTube License 753 likes, 532 dislikes Show more Show less Top Comments FIRST of all. The auto industry is NOT saved and will not be saved by ANYBODY until the systemic﻿ problems are resolved. The primary problem is the blood sucking union thugs and their continuing, outrageous demands for benefits. Do union leaders REALLY care about their members or do they use the unions to grab power?SECOND, Obama should have kept his mitts off the industry and let the laws in effect run their course. GOVERNMENT MOTORS is losing its customers and JEEP is moving out of the USA.AmishRAdio 32 minutes ago 11 Reply RemoveFlag for spamBlock UserUnblock User I would encourage you to find out who Jeffery Immelt is. That is the﻿ man Obama appointed as his jobs czar and also the CEO of General Electric. Last year GE announced they are moving an entire division to China. Now, which candidate is going to ship jobs to China?Snowballs1385 in reply to senseamp (Show the comment) 32 minutes ago

cambridge I see you are convinced that you are as low as BO (blame Others) How nice!

Suggest removal:

Right now, BO(Blame Others) is sitting the White house trying figure out how he can put the blame on Bush or Romney for this storm. He;s probably brain storming with his so-called top advisers on how to do just that. My guess is he will say that Bush caused this storm just so BO couldn't be on the campaign trail today or tomorrow. LMAO!

Everyone needs to read your post to be reminded of where this country is headed under Obama.

It is departing from the culture that made a great country in the beginning.

Suggest removal:

This sounds like a Republican lady:

"IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM"WRITTEN BY A 21 YEAR OLD FEMALEWow, this girl has a great plan! Love the last thing she would do the best.This was written by a 21 yr old female who 'gets it.' It's her future she's worried about and this is how she feels about the social welfare big government state that she's being forced to live in! These solutions are just common sense in her opinion. (and mine!)

This was in the Waco Tribune Herald, Waco , TX , Nov 18, 2011

Subject: PUT ME IN CHARGE . . .

Put me in charge of food stamps. I'd get rid of Lone Star cards; no cash for Ding Dongs or Ho Ho's, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away. If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job.

Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I'd do is to get women Norplant birth control implants or tubal ligations. Then, we'll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, or smoke, then get a job.

Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military barracks? You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair. Your "home" will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.

In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a "government" job. It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we find for you. We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and your blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the "common good.."

Before you write that I've violated someone's rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary. If you want our money, accept our rules. Before you say that this would be "demeaning" and ruin their "self-esteem," consider that it wasn't that long ago that taking someone else's money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self-esteem.

If we are expected to pay for other people's mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices. The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.

AND . . . While you are on Gov't subsistence, you no longer can VOTE! Yes, that is correct. For you to vote would be a conflict of interest. You will voluntarily remove yourself from voting while you are receiving a Gov't welfare check. If you want to vote, then get a job.

Suggest removal:

Those blue states including Mr Christie in NJ will hope Obama is there for them.

Mitt Romney In GOP Debate: Shut Down Federal Disaster Agency, Send Responsibility To The States

During a CNN debate at the height of the GOP primary, Mitt Romney was asked, in the context of the Joplin disaster and FEMA's cash crunch, whether the agency should be shuttered so that states can individually take over responsibility for disaster response.

"Absolutely," he said. "Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction. And if you can go even further, and send it back to the private sector, that's even better. Instead of thinking, in the federal budget, what we should cut, we should ask the opposite question, what should we keep?"

"We cannot -- we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids," Romney replied. "It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we'll all be dead and gone before it's paid off. It makes no sense at all." The clip was flagged by HuffPost blogger Eric Zuesse.